Refrigerating device



Dec. 1, 1942. e. B. CONRAD REFRIGERATII VG DEVICE Filed Nov. 22, 1939 l VENTOR Glen Conrad. M

ATTORNEYS similar articles.

Patented Dec. 1, 1942 OFFICE REFRIGERATING DEVICE Glen B. Conrad, Columbus, Ohio, assignor of onethird to Thomas D. Magee and one-third to Joseph F. Fritz, both of Columbus, Ohio Application November 22,. 1939, Serial No. 305,684

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a refrigerating device. It has to do, more particularly, with a refrigerating device for use in refrigerating such articles as packaged perishable cheeses, ice'cream and However, it is not necessarily limited thereto.

It is very desirable to display packaged perishable cheeses, ice cream and other similar articles in stores, particularly stores of the self-serve type, in such a manner that they may be readily seen by the customer and may be picked up readily by the customer for inspection or retention by the customer. However, it is necessary that articles of this type be refrigerated constantly or they will spoil. It has been the practice to display such articles in open boxes and it has been found that, consequently, the sale of such articles has been greatl increased. However, chipped ice is employed as the refrigerant, the ice being placed in the bottom of the box and the articles being piled on top of the ice. I have found that with such articles as perishable cheeses, the ice gives off moisture which condenses on the packages. This moisture tends to cause spoilage of the cheese. Also with this method it is necessary to provide a box or container of material which will withstand the moisture given oif by the ice and it is also necessary to provide some means of catching the water and disposing of it. Furthermore, the ice does not keep the produce suffic ently cold. Thus, this method has not been found satisfactory. It is impractical to use mechanical refrigerating means for this purpose inasmuch as expensive, complicated and bulky apparatus would be required. Furthermore, the expense of operating the mechanical refrigerating device would be too costly. Also, the mechanical refrigerating coils would give off moisture which would.condense on the articles. It is necessary that the device used for this purpose be extremely simple and inexpensive but still keep the products at a sufficiently low temperature and without forming an appreciable amount of moisture thereon.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an extremely simple but effective device for displaying, and refrigerating articlesof the type indicated, the articles being displayed in such a.

manner that they may be readily picked up by the customer and the articles being refrigerated properly to prevent spoilage while on display.

Another object of my invention is to provide a refrigerating and displaying device which is of a very simple structure and which may be made of low cost materials.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the type indicated and which may be readily moved from place to place.

In its preferred form my invention contemplates the provision of a container having an open top in which the articles are placed. The article-s are piled in the bottom of the container and may be easily and quickly removed by customers. As the refrigerating medium I provide solidified carbon dioxide which is commonly known as dry ice. This ice is disposed in a container which is mounted on the rear wall of the main container. The ice container has openings in the bottom thereof through which the cold air will issue. The ice container is so disposed that the cold air will flow downwardly and forwardly over the articles in the bottom of the main container and will form a blanket of cold air over such articles. Thus, the'articles will be properly refrigerated.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing where in similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerating and display device constructed according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the ice container of my device.

Figure 3 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view taken through the device illustrated in Figure 1.

With reference to the drawing, I have illustrated my device which preferably comprises a. main container I.

This container is preferably of rectangular form having its bottom closed and its top open. In order to make the articles in the container readily visible and accessible to the customer, the front wall 2 is much shorter than the rear wall 3. The upper edge of each of the side walls 4 and 5 is therefore inclined, as indicated at 6, from the top edge of the wall 3 downwardly and forwardly to the top edge of the wall 2. This container may be made of any suitable heat insulating material. It preferably is made of insulating cardboard or other suitable cheap material.

For refrigerating the articles in the container I I provide an ice container 1 which is adapted to be supported on the rear wall 3. This container I is carried by a plate 8 which may be of metal and which has its upper edge curled at 8 so that the container! may be removably hung from the upper edge of the rear wall 3. The container 1 has an open top which is normally closed by the lid ID. The container I may be made of any suitable heat insulating material, preferably cardboard and may, if desired, have a lining of cord. The bottom of the container 1 is provided with a pair of openings H. The container 1 is adapted to receive solidified carbon dioxide illustrated by the numeral I 2. As indicated best in Figure 3, when the container 1 is suspended from the rear wall 3 of the container 1, the bottom of the container I, and consequently the openings II will be below the upper edge I3 of the forward wall 2 of container I.

In using this device the articles, such as packaged perishable cheese, indicated by the numeral II, are piled on the bottom of the container I. The articles are preferably piled in stepped relationship so that the top of the pile is substantially parallel with the top edges 6 of the side walls of the container I. The cold air will issue from the container 1 through the openings I I and will fiow forwardly over the articles 14.

Movement of the air up along the forward wall 2 is interrupted by a lip 2a formed on the upper edge of this wall and this lip will tend to deflectthe air rearwardly and facilitate formation of the blanket of cold air. The cold air will displace the hot air and will form a blanket of cold air over the articles thereby keeping the articles at the proper temperature. Because the openings II are below the top edge l3 of the forward wall, the blanket of cold air will be formed and drafts of hot air from around the container I will have substantially no effect on this blanket of cold air. The air will flow from the ice container forwardly and downwardly along the articles at an angle. Therefore, it is possible to have the top edges of the side wall inclined downwardly and forwardly. It is important to have the pile of articles incline downwardly and forwardly also.

The temperature at which the articles are maintained will depend upon the relationship of the size of the openings H, the size of the container l and the type of article. ture may be lowered by using a container I having larger openings l l or by using the same container 1 with a small container I. I have found in actual practice that the solidified carbon dioxide will last for comparatively long period of time and will maintain the articles at the proper temperature.

It will be apparent from the above description that I have provided a refrigerating device and display device which is very simple but very effective. The device is portable and may be easily moved from place to place in the store. The articles are displayed in such a manner that they may be readily seen by the customer and may be readily removed from the device by the customer. Furthermore, the articles are properly refrigerated. Because solidified cabon dioxide is used as the refrigerant, the articles will be kept comparatively dry. Furthermore, it will not be neeessary to provide containers of expensive material necessary to withstand moisture. Also there will be no necessity of providing means for dis- The temperai posing of moisture. The device may be made at a very low cost and may be operated at a low cost.

Various other advantages will be apparent from the preceding description, the drawing and the following claims.

Having thus described claim is:

l. A refrigerating and display device of the type described comprising a main container for the articles to be displayed, said main container being of substantially rectangular form having its top open so that the articles may be removed readily therefrom and having its bottom closed, said container having a front wall which is much shorter than the rear wall, the side walls having their upper edges inclined downwardly and forwardly from the upper edge of the rear wall to the upper edge of the forward wall, and a container for solidified carbon dioxide supported on the rear wall of said main container in such a manner that its bottom is disposed a substantial distance above the bottom of the main container and below the upper edge of said rear wall, the bottom of said last-named container being provided with outlets for cold air.

2. A refrigerating and display device of the type described comprising a main container for the articles to be displayed, said main container being of substantially rectngular form having its top open so that the articles may be removed readily therefrom and having its bottom closed, said container having a front wall which is much shorter than the rear wall, the side walls having their upper edges inclined downwardly and forwardly from the upper edge of the rear wall to the upper edge of the forward wall, and a container for ice supported on the rear wall of said main container in such a manner that its bottom is disposed a substantial distance above the bottom of the main container, and below the upper edge of said rear wall, said ice container having a portion carried thereby which is adapted to hook over the upper edge of the rear wall of the main container so that the ice container may be readily removed, said ice container having an outlet formed in the bottom thereof for cold air, said outlet being disposed at a point spaced below the upper edge of said forward wall of said main container.

3. A refrigerating and display device of the type described comprising a main container for the articles to be displayed, said main container being of hollow form having its top uncovered so that the articles may be removed readily therefrom and having its bottom closed, said container having a front wall" which is much my invention, what I shorter than the rear wall, and a container for solidified carbon dioxide supported on the rear wall of said main container in such a manner that its bottom is disposed a substantial distance above the bottom of th main container and below the upper edge of said rear wall, the bottom of said last-named container being provided with an outlet for cold air.

GLEN B. CONRAD. 

